| TourEast London Travel Trade Update THE TOURISM VOICE OF EAST LONDON |
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January 2007
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Inside This Issue...Destination Round Up - What's New in 2007 FOCUS: The Ramada Docklands Hotel & Suites A New Venue for East London: The O2 Ramps up for Opening Cutty Sark Conservation Project Begins Journey to the New World at Museum in Docklands News and Forthcoming Events in Greenwich Arts and Events at Canary Wharf Curve Restaurant & Bar Presents Competition Winner with a Luxurious Holiday to the Caribbean |
WelcomeDear ColleagueWelcome to the TourEast London Travel Trade Update packed with developments and destination news, plus reasons why you should be including east London product in your London packages. TourEast London works with the best tourism suppliers and can suggest new itineraries, undiscovered places to visit, comfortable beds to sleep in, venues to meet in and how to get the right information and the local contacts. This edition features The O2, a focus on Ramada Docklands Hotel & Suites and opportunities to participate in familiarisation trips. This newsletter is sent to over 1,200 regional, national and international trade contacts, press, VisitBritain and Visit London. Use the contents menu on the left to browse articles in this newsletter, or simply scroll down the page. Should you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@visiteastlondon.co.uk. Recommend this newsletter to a colleague by telling them to send an email to info@visiteastlondon.co.uk with 'SUBSCRIBE TT NEWSLETTER' in the subject bar. Visit www.visiteastlondon.co.uk/grouptravel.html for all you need to know to plan a successful trip to London, from quirky attractions, colourful markets and great London icons to a range of coach parking and tour guide services Best Wishes TourEast London N.B. Should you not wish to receive news from TourEast London, please reply with 'UNSUBSCRIBE TRADE' in the subject line. |
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TourEast London Update Familiarisation Trip Invitation TourEast London will be hosting an east London showcase in March 2007 at a special travel trade familiarisation event. If you are interested in attending or participating, please contact mary@visiteastlondon.co.uk Familiarisation Trip to The O2, Canary Wharf and Museum in Docklands
Distribution of the new TEL leisure guide ‘Discover Another Side of London’ has been very successful so far, with 200,000 distributed in 6 months. The format and content has changed substantially from previous guides, and are based around the tourism clusters of: Maritime Greenwich, Deptford, ExCeL London Campus, Stratford, Docklands & Canary Wharf, Spitalfields & Brick Lane and the Pool of London. If you would like to receive free copies of the new guide, please email info@visiteastlondon.co.uk with quantities required and delivery contact details. NB. If you wish to receive just one copy or a few copies for your own use please use our contact page. Travel Trade Guides for east London The TEL travel trade guide invites you to explore a new side of London and extensively covers shopping, eating, itnieraries, attractions, accommodation and events in Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, Brick Lane & Spitalfields, Canary Wharf, the Pool of London, Stratford, ExCeL London and Deptford. You will also find information on how to get to us, getting around in the area, coach parking and tour guides. To obtain the travel trade guide, please download a copy for free from www.visiteastlondon.co.uk/business/businesshome.html ^ top ^ |
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Destination Round Up - What's New in 2007 New attractions
New hotels
New transport infrastructure
Venue Guide for East London The latest edition of the Essential Venue Guide for London Eastside features more than 60 venues (spanning over 950 years), in this emerging part of London, including 17 new venues that are featured for the first time. Some of the more unique venues include London’s only lighthouse, and two World Heritage Sites. The guide has several new features including incentive listings, and enhanced ‘quick reference’ listings which are useful when trying to source venues that have specific features. For further information contact Rob Ellwood on 020 7364 4458 or rob.ellwood@towerhamlets.gov.uk. To download a copy go to our Venues page. Included in this guide, are several products from Maritime Greenwich, who are about to make huge investment into their MICE portfolio. The most exciting of these has to be the amazing new facilities on board the Cutty Sark, due for completion in 2008. For further information on Maritime Greenwich call 020 8 269 5444 and ask sales staff for further information or visit www.greenwichwhs.org.uk For further information email mary@visiteastlondon.co.uk ^ top ^ |
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FOCUS: The Ramada Docklands Hotel & Suites
The Ramada Hotel and Suites offers 71 serviced apartments complete with separate private bedroom with ensuite bathroom; comprising power shower and luxurious bath, sitting room, kitchenette, dining room with comfortable interconnecting family rooms. A real sense of ‘home away from home’ in contemporary suites with a bona fide sense of style, space, peace and privacy. The Ground floor of the building has 24 hour manned security, 24 hour hot food with room service always available to our long-stay guests, a Waterfront Brasserie serving world food with the freshest ingredients on hand and a stylish Oval bar for that classic setting for getting together with friends or that well-earned night cap!
For further information contact Pauline Farrelly on 0207 540 4824 or pauline.farrelly@ramadadocklands.co.uk to book or/and to discuss a corporate rate and to arrange a showaround and visit. The Ramada Docklands Hotel & Suites, 2 Festoon Way, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1RH. Click here to visit the Ramada Docklands website ^ top ^ |
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A New Venue for East London: The O2 Ramps up for Opening
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Cutty Sark Conservation Project Begins
For further information contact Anna Somerset on 020 8858 2698 or email a.somerset@cuttysark.org.uk Click here to visit the Cutty Sark website ^ top ^ |
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Museum of London is Changing
Visitors will be able to enjoy the London before London, Roman and Medieval galleries throughout the redevelopment work and the Museum will continue to host an exciting range of events for all ages. The Museum is also launching London’s Burning, a new, FREE exhibition opening on 16th March, which explores the Great Fire of 1666. Using eyewitness accounts, interactives and video installation London’s Burning will bring to life the personal side of the tragedy. The exhibition will transport visitors back to 17th Century London and allow both adults and children to engage with the story and think about how the fire changed the lives of Londoners and the city they lived in. Click here to visit the Museum of London website
Archaeology, artefacts, documents and stories come together in a tale of daring survival that charts the crucial role of Londoners in the founding of the United States of America. Coinciding with anniversary celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic, Journey to the New World is a unique glimpse into the history of an emerging nation. Journey to the New World: London 1606 to Virginia 1607 is open until 13th May 2007, admission is FREE with an annual Museum in Docklands ticket (Adults £5, Concessions £3, Under 16, NUS and disabled carers FREE). Full details can be found at www.museumindocklands.org.uk/newworld ^ top ^ |
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News and Forthcoming Events in Greenwich
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Arts and Events at Canary WharfAs well as offering over 200 shops, bars and restaurants, Canary Wharf's diverse arts and events programme attracts increasing numbers of visitors each year. The East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf's open spaces and the shopping malls feature live music, comedy clubs, exhibitions and movie screenings.
For further information on Canary Wharf Arts and Events email Julia Denman at Julia.Denman@CanaryWharf.com Click here to visit the Canary Wharf leisure website ^ top ^ |
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Updates from Newham 2012 Walk the Olympic Park- FREE group walks in Feb 2007!
For more information on the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, please follow this link: www.london2012.org or www.newham.com/2012Games Skate Stratford Promoting health and fitness in the Olympic Borough, Stratford hosts its very own ice rink from the beginning of February 2007. Grab your chance before the ice melts to skate under open skies. Dates: Saturday 3rd February – Sunday 4th March 2007 To book and for further details visit www.newham.com/2012Games ^ top ^ |
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Events at ExCeL London
ExCeL London ideally located for access from the M25, M11, A406 and A13 and to London from Prince Regent and Custom House for ExCeL DLR stations, offers coach parking facilities for London. For further information, contact ExCeL London on 020 7069 5000 or email info@excel-london.co.uk Click here to visit the ExCeL London corporate website. ^ top ^ |
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Curve Restaurant & Bar Presents Competition Winner with a Luxurious Holiday to the Caribbean
Mr Paul Downing, the General Manager at the London Marriott West India Quay Hotel, presented the prize certificate, while the tropical sound of a live steel band played in the background. Mr Taylor, who lives and works locally in E14, won the prize out of hundreds of For further information about the Curve Restaurant & Bar contact Helen Foster on 020 7837 8808 or email helen@ahpr.co.uk Click here to visit the Marriott West India Quay website ^ top ^ |
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East London Art Walks
A great opportunity to view several exhibitions in one outing is our programme of art walks. Each weekend, a qualified art professional guide takes visitors around 6 -10 of the most interesting exhibitions within areas such as Shoreditch and Bethnal Green, and will also talk about the history of art in east London. The walk lasts approximately 2.5 hours. Private walks and group rates are available upon request. Prebooking is advisable at 020 7739 1743 or by emailing artwalks@commentart.com Click here to visit the Comment Art website ^ top ^ |
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London Street Market Walks
For further information email sandra_shevey@yahoo.com Click here to visit the London Street Market Tours website ^ top ^ |
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Budget Travellers Keep London on the top for 2007 2007 trend predictions for budget travellers are in, and it looks set to be a year of ‘as you were’ for worldwide destinations, with London remaining No.1. HostelBookers.com has revealed that 2007 searches for hostels are still topped by the UK capital, while Amsterdam, New York, Paris and Barcelona take the remaining places in the top five. The figures are based on 2,500,000 of the web site’s searches over the past 2 months, and bookings show that almost three quarters (74%) of searches and bookings are for familiar destinations within Europe, North America, and Australasia. Of these, 55% of searches and bookings are for culturally renowned European cities, 10% for North American destinations, and 9% for Australia and New Zealand combined. Within the top 100 searched for destinations, only Marrakech and Cairo appeared for North Africa, while Cape Town was the only southern part of the continent to feature - at No.99. No Middle East cities appeared in the top 100, which may be a reflection of current turbulence in the region: The highest-ranking Middle Eastern place was Tel Aviv, at 207th most searched for destination. While searches and bookings for Africa seem low in comparison, the love affair with South-East Asia continues, taking 9% of all searches and bookings. Bangkok, again, looks as though it will be a haven for the adventure tourist community in 2007, ranking at 23, just behind the more sedate central European cities of Brussels, Vienna and Budapest. South America will contribute to the top 100 destinations next year, with Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) both making the top 50. Santiago de Chile (Chile) will be the 3rd most popular South American city according to HostelBookers.com – with searches and bookings placing it as the 81st most popular destination overall. ^ top ^ |
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Useful Links^ top ^ |
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In November 2006, TEL ran a familiarisation trip for 25 coach operators from the Confederation of Passenger Transport. The group were given an east London destination update followed by a presentation from the team at The O2 on the programme of shows and exhibitions starting in 2007. The group were then walked through the shopping malls at Canary Wharf (they always impress) on their way to the Museum in Docklands for a private tour. The feedback we had was excellent and one coach operator has been put in touch with the Museum to firm up new business for 2007. 
Visitor Guides
In June 2007, the Royal Observatory, Greenwich opens four new galleries exploring astronomy, adding to the new Time Galleries opened in 2006 and the new 120-seat Peter Harrison Planetarium, the only planetarium in London. 
The new efficient Docklands Light Railway (DLR) link between London City Airport to Canary Wharf and Bank is open and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between St Pancras Station and the Channel Tunnel with a new station at Stratford will open in 2007, and will serve as a vital transport feed for the 2012 Games. 
On 8th July 2007 the Tour de France will pass over Tower Bridge, the official start line of the 1st Stage, through Bermondsey and Deptford to Greenwich where they will cross the Greenwich Meridian Line, where all time zones are measured from. There will be plenty of photo opportunities and lots of special events are planned around this stage of the race, with the annual 'Made in Deptford Festival' coinciding with the Tour de France this year. 
Looking for long-let accommodation? – Ramada Hotel and Suites, can accommodate you. Did you know that nestled between London City Airport and Canary Wharf lies the centre of the long-stay suite concept?
If you’re booking rooms for your boss, clients, visiting clients, employees working on long projects in Docklands and Canary Wharf, Ramada Suites are the ideal solution for a night or a year. They offer the flexibility and comfort of your own home with all the benefits of the services of a 4-star hotel. For your business why not make the Ramada Suites your Exclusive London Docklands address? What we can do for you?…we go the extra mile…we can arrange a shuttle service to your place of business, pick you up at the airport and ferry you here…offer you a regular breakfast box for your room with all the staples… shopping service…a special ‘home away from home’ menu…special negotiated movie rates….deals on broadband…laundry service…..but more that that, space to make your stay as homely as possible and service if required so that it runs smoothly. You can also hire a suite for day use for that intimate meeting or staff appraisal. 
Located in the most exciting part of 21st century London, we are less than 10 minutes to London’s most dynamic business district, Canary Wharf; London City Airport is on your doorstep with the west end a 20 minutes tube ride away.
November 2006 saw the commencement of the £25m Heritage Lottery funded Cutty Sark Conservation Project to preserve the fabric of the world’s most famous merchant ship, and also to ensure that she has an exciting and sustainable future. It will, quite literally, raise the standard of historic ship presentation as the ship will be lifted and suspended three metres above her current position, allowing visitors to walk, dine or dance under her and, for the first time, be able to properly appreciate her beautiful shape. A sophisticated glass apron designed by Eden project architects, Grimshaw meeting the ship at the waterline, will give year round protection to visitors in the dry berth and to the lower hull itself. Lifts will allow everyone on board and onto each deck.
This ambitious programme of work involves temporary closure. However, from Easter 2007 adjacent to the Cutty Sark there will be an architecturally stunning pavilion where visitors will be able to learn about the Trust’s conservation techniques and plans for the ship as well as see some of the conservation in action.
From March 2007 the Museum of London will be embarking on a major redevelopment of its lower galleries, transforming the way it tells the story of London from 1666 to the present day. The new galleries, plus improved visitor facilities, including Clore Learning Centre, theatre and Sackler Hall (housing coffee point and information zone), will open in 2009. 
Four hundred years ago three ships of intrepid settlers set sail from London, bound for the New World. Five months later they landed on Virginian shores to start their new life and found the first permanent English settlement, Jamestown. Discover the facts and fables behind their adventure in a gripping exhibition at Museum in Docklands. 
2007 will be a big year for Greenwich. This will be the 10 Year Anniversary of the Greenwich Foundation and of the World Heritage Site. There will also be many openings and new events. The new Planetarium and Space Galleries will open at the National Maritime Museum. The Cutty Sark closed for restoration on 5th November 2006 but an exciting temporary exhibition is scheduled to open adjacent to the ship in Spring 2007. 'A Model Girl' will be the new musical at Greenwich Theatre in January. This emotional rollercoaster of love, passion, corruption, hysteria, sex and salvation will run from 30th January until 24th February. 
China comes to the East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf for ‘Cinema City’. with free screenings of ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ on Wednesday 31st January. The celebration of Chinese New Year continues with Springtime in a Small Town to be shown on Saturday 17th February. 
Free group walks of the Olympic Park start on Sundays in February at 11am and 1pm. Walks are led by local walking group Newham Striders. Everyone is welcome. No booking required, simply turn up to see for yourself exactly how hosting the Games will transform this part of London’s Lower Lea Valley. This walk takes in the sites for the Olympic Stadium and Aquatic Centre as well as local points of interest, including the Abbey Mills Pumping Station and old Bryant and May match factory. Starting point is Three Mill Lane, E3 3DU. To request a free copy of the guide Walk the Olympic Park by post, email 
The London Stitch & Creative Hobbycrafts Show will take place at ExCeL London, for the first time, from 22nd - 24th February. The show will cover all aspects of Stitch and Creative Crafts with related subjects including sewing, cross stitch, embroidery, needlework, hand & machine knitting, lace making, tapestry, patchwork & quilt making, felt making, scrap booking, card making, paper craft, stamping, beading, jewellery making, art, painting, sugarcraft, woodworking, pottery, glass painting and ribbon craft. 
Based on the Channel 4 TV series, Grand Designs Live from 8th - 10th June is the ultimate exhibition for people passionate about home and garden design. Whether your project is a total self-build, refurbishment, garden design, or even just tweaking a room with the latest furnishings, Grand Designs Live offers you a wealth of products, information, services and advice on how to spice up your home. A full programme of seminars and expert advice sessions will take place each day. Both are free of charge to attend and operate on a first come, first served basis. 
Star Wars Celebration Europe will officially mark the 30th anniversary of the saga bringing together the best of LucasFilm’s inspirational Star Wars universe to ExCeL London from July 13th - 15th, 2007.
Star Wars Celebration Europe includes live entertainment, celebrity guests from all six movies, special film and video presentations, an exhibit of original movie props and costumes, exclusive merchandise, pop culture tributes, interactive events, a costume contest, a 2000 seat theatre and will offer a glimpse of what the future holds for the galaxy far far away! 
On Friday 17th November 2006, Curve Restaurant & Bar, set within the five-star Marriott West India Quay, presented a prize certificate for a luxurious holiday to the Caribbean island of St Kitts, to a delighted Mr Kevin Taylor and his wife Harriet.
responses, following a competition he entered when dining in Curve with his family over the summer months. The competition was created to celebrate the launch of Curve Restaurant & Bar, which now serves a wide selection of market fresh fish and seafood sourced from the neighbouring Billingsgate Fish Market.
Comment Art is the perfect information source for the small hidden-away spaces of contemporary art in east London. Comment Art publish the quarterly East London Art Map, a free, comprehensive guide that encourages discovery of east London as an exciting place to live, work and visit. Listing over three hundred art galleries, public art installations, studios and art schools. The map is downloadable from 
Sandra Shevey has been defending London's oldest markets since first becoming aware of the threat to their survival in consequence of the gentrification and suburbanisation of London. She began her street market walks in 1990 and currently runs walks in and around five London markets including Brick Lane, Spitalfields, Petticoat Lane and Whitechapel. Sandra has recently updated her website to include music, images and animation.